


Crevasse Rescue

by Simarillion



Series: Glaciology! Verse [4]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-03
Updated: 2010-04-03
Packaged: 2017-10-08 16:15:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simarillion/pseuds/Simarillion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tell it like it is. (Of settling and living)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: None of the herein presented happenings and events are true. Everything is 100% fiction and that includes the sexuality of the characters. I don't claim to be in the know about their relations and private affairs, and I don't make any money with the creation of this story.
> 
> A/N: This is part 4 of the Glaciology! 'verse. Jensen is a scientist in the field of glaciology and he spends most of his time surrounded by ice, whereas Jared is a Hollywood movie star. Prequel to this story are Invisible Glaciers,Iceberg Anatomy, and Avalanches Approaching.

Exactly a month after he gets propositioned by Jared Padalecki, Jensen finds himself in font of the office of Dean Matson, wondering how it happened that he accepted a job offer with the Stanford department of Environmental Earth System Science. Chris had told him not to do anything stupid, but it wasn't really stupid to take a teaching position at an acclaimed university, now was it? So what, if it takes about six hours from Stanford to LA?

When Dr. Kripke had heard about his interest in employment as a teacher, he had offered Jensen a place at the Alpine and Arctic Research Department of UA. When Jensen had declined to move permanently to Alberta, Dr. Kripke had been eager to offer the possibility of a position as a guest lecturer.

So, now Jensen will start in about three weeks at Stanford, which is practically no time at all. However, since he's going to co-teach a seminar, and one external course in the winter semester, he can actually use the first two weeks, that are usually lost on arrivals and introductions, for preparations as well.

It had been difficult to make all his arrangements from Alaska while wrapping up his project, and packing. The dogs had to stay behind, they weren't his in the first place, but Jeff had promised to make sure that they would be sent to Kim after the whole research project was over. At least like this, Jensen would be able to visit them from time to time.

He had been surprised to hear that Danneel would be leaving the project as well; her part was done, just like Jensen's, and she had accepted the teaching position with UA that Jensen had declined. The two of them had joked about torturing students, and she had been steadily planning Jensen's first stint as a guest lecturer.

Finding accommodations had proven to be more difficult than he had expected. When Jensen had looked into real estate in the Palo Alto region, he had almost had a heart attack. The next logical step had been to move to San Francisco. The proximity to Tom and Mike, the relatively short commute to work, and the far more moderate prices made it a quick decision. Still, finding a place to live is something that can't be done in a week from some research compound in Alaska.

So, Jensen is staying with Tom and Mike, hogging the fold-out couch. Dean is happy to stay with the two of them. The dog had been very indulgent with all of Jensen's moving and traveling around this summer. Hopefully once Jensen has a home of his own, things will settle down to a more comfortable pace.

In all this time, Jensen hasn't talked to Jared. He hadn't wanted to be put under the pressure to give a declaration of his intentions. He's aware that he'll have to call Jared and tell him about his change in location, and he'll have to give him the answer to his question. As if any answer was really needed with Jensen's relocation.

Jensen leaves the building of EESS and walks through the campus. The warm sunny day has people sitting on the grass, reading, chatting, or simply resting. The semester hasn't started, but there are still students and faculty members walking here and there. Most of them are teaching, taking summer classes, or working with research projects.

Dean is with Mike and Tom, since Jensen hadn't been sure how long things would take with the Dean of the Department. Jensen sits down on a bench and fishes his cell phone out of his pocket. It had been on silent mode, and he finds a missed call on his display. His mum had called, most probably wishing him luck.

There is nervousness in his stomach as he opens his contacts and scrolls down to Jared's number. After a second of hesitation, he presses call. There's the sound of the connection establishing, and then the phone rings. It rings for some time, and shortly before the mailbox switches on, someone picks up on the other end.

"Jensen?" Jared sounds out of breath. His voice has Jensen's heart beat harder, and he swallows thickly.

"Hey, Jared." Jensen watches a group of students sitting together and having an impromptu picnic.

"I sent you e-mails, but you never replied." Jensen hadn't been sure if writing with Jared would be a good idea, so had just read the messages he got, and saved them in his 'Jared' folder.

"Yeah, I needed time to think, make some decisions." His voice sounds much calmer than he feels.

"Where are you now, Jensen?" There are barks in the background. Sadie and Harley are demanding their human's attention.

"I'm in Stanford. Sitting in a park on the university campus." He waits for Jared's reaction.

After a second of silence, Jared asks, his voice tinged with hope. "What are you doing in Stanford?"

"I'm starting as a teacher here. In three weeks, to be more precise." Jensen closes his eyes and tilts his head back, letting the sun warm his skin.

"You…" There's a sound of Jared taking a deep breath before he continues. "You are going to stay in California?"

"Yes." And they both know that this is the answer to more than one question.

There's silence on the other end of the line. Jared and Jensen are unsure what to do next. How to continue from here? It was easier to start a life in California than it is to talk about what is happening between them, what they want to happen between them.

"I want to see you, talk to you in person." Jensen nods, even though Jared can't see him. He wants to see Jared, too. Ever since he had started the process of moving to San Francisco, Jensen had equally wished for, and feared, their first meeting after Jared had showed up at his parents' house.

"I have Dean with me, but I can drive down to LA tomorrow morning." This gives him at least some more time to talk about it with his friends.

"I'd prefer to have this conversation sooner, but I can wait. Tomorrow is fine." Again there is an awkward lapse in conversation. If this is a preview what the future will be like, Jensen worries that it won't take long to fail.

"I'll leave early in the morning. D'you have to work tomorrow?" A shout to his right has him open his eyes and he turns his head to watch a group of people start a game of rugby. They are men and women, and they are all laughing happily.

"No, the movie is finished. At the moment, all I have is some promotional work." Jensen looks away from the joyous group and goes back to sun bathing.

"I should arrive around noon."

"I'll be at home." Jared takes a deep breath. "How long are you going to stay?"

"I thought about a couple of days. I have to bring some of my work with me, because there isn't a lot of time until the semester starts." He blinks against the ray of sunshine that blinds him. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Harley and Sadie will be beside themselves when you and Dean show up." Jensen can hear some of the old happiness in Jared's voice. It has been too long since he last heard that.

"Okay. Until tomorrow."

"Yeah, till tomorrow." Jared hesitates shortly and then adds, "Bye, Jensen."

"Bye Jared." He ends the call, but stays seated, the phone in his hands. He continues to watch the people around him for some more time, at the same time studying the campus. Maybe living here won't be so bad after all.

Once the heat almost has him stroke out, Jensen gets up from his bench and wanders on to his car. Inside the rental he has air condition, and on the way to it, he passes a small convenience store where he buys a bottle of water.

The drive back the Tom's and Mike's takes longer in the afternoon than it did in the morning, and he parks the car in front of the house almost an hour after he left the campus. Jensen cuts the engine and stays sitting in the car for a couple of minutes. His thoughts are already racing forward in time, going round and round about tomorrow's meeting with Jared.

When a car passes him by, turning into the driveway of the neighboring house, he shakes himself out of the trance and gets out of the car. He hurries to the front door, key already in hand. Noone greets him when he enters, but he quickly finds his friends in the back yard, Mike grilling, and Tom playing with Dean.

The dog barks enthusiastically when Jensen steps out of the house. He abandons Tom and the bright pink Frisbee and jumps Jensen. Laughing, Jensen rubs Dean's sides and scratches behind his ears. The husky will love going to Jared's, seeing Sadie and Harley.

"So, how did it go?" Tom strolls up to dog and human, grinning amusedly at them.

"I have one seminar and an external course. They said that should things work out, we could start a sub department in the field of glaciology." Dean licks his hand once more before he heads over to Mike in the hope to scrounge a burger.

"That's great!" Tom claps him on the back and steers Jensen over to the chairs next to the porch. "Maybe you can get some cooperation between UA and Stanford started."

"Maybe. We'll see." He smiles at his friend. Yes, the talk with Dean Matson had been a good one. Considering he had only contacted her two weeks ago, everything had progressed rather quickly. "I'll be away the next couple of days, maybe the whole week."

Tom just looks at him. Says nothing, and hands him a bottle of beer. Jensen takes it and takes a long swig.

"What did he say?" When Jensen had told his friends about him and Jared, they had at first reacted like Chris, threatening to do Jared bodily harm. But, when Jensen had stubbornly continued to turn his life inside out, they had stopped the threats and instead supported him wherever and however they could.

"Nothing much. He just said that he wants to see me, talk to me in person." Jensen takes another swig, carefully avoiding looking Tom in the face.

"Jensen…"

"It's just, I have been wanting this for so long, and even though it will most likely end badly, I can't help but take what's being offered." He frowns.

"Are you sure that it's the right thing to do if you are talking about it like this?" They are turning to watch Mike wrestle Dean for the apron that had dropped to the floor.

"Don't listen to me, Tom. I'm just tired; the last few weeks were very stressful. And I'm moving to a place I'm not sure I want to live. On top of that, I can't help but worry about everything that might go wrong with this, whatever it will turn out to be between me and Jared." He grins tiredly as Dean darts off with his prize, the blue and yellow striped cloth dragging behind him in the dirt.

"If you go into the whole thing, thinking like this, it's better you never start." Tom stares at Jensen's profile, studying his face closely.

"You're right, but I can't help but think that if I fully invest myself in the relationship, which we don't have yet, I will end up getting hurt. I mean, come on. Jared is surrounded by movie stars, models and music stars all the time. Why would he give that up for me?" Jensen glances at Tom. "What if he feels trapped, like he did with Sandy? And what about him never having had any kind of gay relationship? He might not want to define himself as homosexual."

"That's something you have to help him come to terms with then."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just not sure how much of a help I can be." They are then joined by Mike, who carries a plate of burgers.

"Come on, you two hot stuffs, dinner is ready." He leads the way back onto the porch where the table is already set.

Jensen sits down and waits for Tom and Mike to get their food before he starts to assemble his own burger. The meet is juicy and the bun is soft. Together with the onions, the tomatoes and the lettuce it tastes like heaven.

For the rest of the dinner no one says anything because they are all busy stuffing their faces. If Mike drops a burger, Jensen pretends he doesn't notice the innocent look his friend gives him, same as he pretends not to hear the squabble of toenails under the table as Dean makes for the meat.

It's afterwards, when Tom is carrying the dirty dishes inside, that Mike asks Jensen to stay. Tom had already had his talk with him, so now it's Mike's turn to be Jensen's conscious. His friends take their task very seriously.

"You going to visit LA?" Tom had mentioned Jensen's future absence during dinner. Only tossing a comment about eating without Jensen at the table, and then continuing to eat as if he hadn't said a word.

"Yeah." Jensen looks out over the yard. "There're things that need taking care of."

"That's what it's called nowadays?" Mike's tone is teasing. A welcome change to the reprimands and worried advices he has been receiving lately.

"Idiot." He chuckles quietly.

They don't say anything for awhile, Tom comes and gets the rest of the dirty dishes, and leaves again. There are children laughing next door, and a dog is barking somewhere down the street. Jensen likes the neighborhood, and hopes that he'll find something similar.

"So, how is this going to work with him in LA and you up here in good old Frisco?" The question has Jensen turn to his friend. Mike is attentively watching his face.

"I don't know, we haven't talked about it. He just found that I moved out here." Jensen takes his glass and takes a gulp of the water. "Most likely, I'll drive down to LA on the weekends, and maybe he can come up once in a while when he isn't busy with shooting a movie."

"Sounds good." Yeah, it does. And for the first time Jensen dares to hope that it will work. So far he had always kept reminding himself of the difficulties, the problems that lay ahead.

"It'll be good too." He gazes into Mike's eyes. "Do you think I'm making a mistake?"

"Jensen, it's your decision to make. I want to tell you that I think you shouldn't do it, but I don't know him, and what you told me so far wasn't really in Jared's favor." Mike bites his lip. "My opinion might be biased."

"I'm confused, and I hate second guessing and doubting everything I do, wondering about his motivations behind his actions. It's annoying and it's slowly but surely turning me into a schizophrenic." Jensen frowns. "It's just so stupid really. Maybe if I had told him about me earlier on, and he had made the offer without the external prompting, I would feel better about the situation. Sometimes I can't help but feel like the only reason why he came on to me was because there was nothing better around. Like I'm some kind of consolation price."

"Jensen, if you really feel this way, tell him 'no'. Do your semester as a teacher, and then go back to your own life again. You don't have to change everything you are for someone else. It's just too much, for you and for him." Mike's words are good advice, but Jensen knows that he's not going to take it. It's too late for it anyway, he's far too invested already.

They both know that Jensen is going to continue what he started, and so they just stay sitting on the porch, and watch Dean goof around, tearing the apron he won earlier into shreds.

Later on Tom joins them. He brings three new bottles of beer and sets them down on the table, taking one for himself.

"So, how about some poker?" Mike's question has Jensen snort and Tom roll his eyes. Ever since Jensen moved in with them, Mike has been making them play cards every day. He claims that he's finally getting in the necessary practice that he needs to make big money in Vegas.

At this Tom had just looked at him as if Mike was mad, and told the other in no uncertain terms that any kind of gambling was off-limits. The two of them had been to Las Vegas once, and only in the airport to change planes, but Tom claims that the air of place had made Mike lose all his inhibitions, which he doesn't have too many of to begin with.

Ever since that traumatic experience, places like Vegas and Atlantic City are taboo for Mike and Tom. He fears a repeat of the one time.

After some negotiating, promises of blow jobs, which Jensen had not wanted to know anything about, and plain old pleading, Tom had agreed to some friendly poker. No money involved.

Mike gets the cards, while Jensen gives his mum a short call. She doesn't pick up, so he leaves her a message, promising to call her once more later on.

"Okay, since there's no money, I thought, how about some strip poker." Mike waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Mike!" Tom glares at his partner and Jensen almost snorts his beer out of his nose. He wipes his face and laughs hard.

"What? No stakes is boring." This awards him a whack on the back of his head.

"No money, no stripping." Tom's voice is hard as he sets down the rules of their game.

"Boring." Mike shuffles the cards and deals them.

"I don't want to hear it." Tom glares once more at Mike and then the game begins.


	2. Chapter 2

Throughout the drive from San Francisco to LA, Jensen can't help but wonder what is going to happen once he arrives. Will they talk about where to go from here? Will Jared kiss him again, and will they have sex? Jensen really wants to have sex.

Dean senses his owner's mental state and stays quiet to whole drive. The only sound that can be heard is the classic rock from the radio.

When he pulls up to the security gate, Danny waving him through and smiling at him, Jensen takes a deep breath, preparing for whatever is coming. The front door of the house is open, and Jared is waiting in the doorway, Sadie and Harley already running towards the approaching car. Their barking is answered by Dean, who gets up in his kennel, eager to be let out and play.

Once the car is parked, the engine cut, and Jensen has gotten out of the car, he lets the husky out. After a very short greeting by Jared's dogs, the three canine friends dash off into the garden, leaving their humans alone to face each other.

Jared walks up to Jensen, his eyes searching his face, looking for clues to Jensen's thoughts and emotions. But Jensen has worked hard on perfecting his poker face; he doesn't want to come on as too eager. First he wants to find out what Jared wants and thinks.

"Hey Jensen." Jared shoves his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulder. They are both not really sure about how to greet each other.

Seeing Jared squirm, Jensen sighs and takes the step closer that's keeping then apart and gives the other a brief hug. At the contact, the tension seems to melt out of Jared, and as Jensen takes a step back, Jared's arms wrap around him and hold him tight against the other's chest.

It feels good, being so close to Jared For a short moment, Jensen closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, smelling dogs, and sweat, and faint traces of soap. It's pure Jared, and it has Jensen's defenses, the few that he had built up, crumbling into dust. Whatever Jared wants out of this, Jensen will give it willingly.

"I'm glad you came." The words are spoken next to his ear. Jensen just nods. There's nothing to say to that.

After the hug had been going on for some time, they unwrap themselves from each other. Once more Jared stares at him, but this time the nervousness is almost gone. At least they have established that they are both happy to see the other.

"Come on, let's say hello to Linda, and then we should talk." Jensen follows Jared into the house. Their walk takes them to the living room, where Linda is pretending she didn't watch their meeting through the window, by dusting the shelves and the TV.

"Hi, Linda." Jensen smiles tentatively at her. It had come as a surprise during his stay in Alaska that he missed Linda; the housekeeper had come to be a good friend to him.

"Hello, Jensen." She sets the duster aside and strides over to him, quickly wrapping him in her arms. Apparently today is the day of hugs. If Jack or Chad hug him too, he's going to freak out, though. There some things that just aren't right.

"I take it you missed me." He teases her, winking conspiratorially.

Linda's answer is a cuff on Jensen's shoulder and a put-upon sigh. "I definitely missed the drama that seems to occur whenever you are here."

"Aw, you did miss me." His fake cooing earns him another cuff, and then she smiles at Jensen with genuine happiness.

"It's good to see you again." The honest emotion in her voice has Jensen sober up a little, and he smiles calmly at her.

"Yeah, you too." Their greeting is interrupted when Jared clears his throat and has Jensen turn towards him.

Jared shuffles a little bit, maybe unconsciously hurrying Jensen along, and looks from Jensen to Linda, and then back to Jensen. Jared wants to go, get Jensen to himself, and get to the talk that has been coming for such a long time now.

"Well, I'll see the both of you later." This has both of them turn around, and head for the back of the house and the garden. It's the place where no one will interrupt them, and it's also a neutral spot.

While Jensen follows Jared, his thoughts are already on the conversation that they'll shortly have. Truthfully, he didn't know what they would talk about, except how to organize their life together. Surely there were other topics that needed sorting out as well. With the rising tension, Jensen has the urge to turn around and drive back to his friends. He's never been good with emotional talking or scenes. It's just not something he's used to.

The dogs are chasing around, there's the sound of their barking somewhere off to the right. Jared stops on the pool deck. He faces Jensen and scans his face closely. The attention has Jensen try to square his shoulders and puff out his chest, at the same time as hunch down. It doesn't really work of course, and in the end he just fidgets, which definitely doesn't have the same effect.

"So." Jensen clears his throat. "You said that I should think about the offer you made."

"And, did you?" Jared is squinting a little when a cloud fully uncovers the sun, and the bright light shines in his eyes. "Have you decided about what you're going to do?"

"I moved to San Francisco, didn't I?" He looks up from Jared's chest and meets the other's eyes.

"That wasn't my question. You could have stayed in Dallas or in Canada as well, if you had wanted to. It was never a condition, you moving to California." Jensen's answer had apparently put Jared on the defensive.

"Let's be realistic Jared. If I lived thousands of miles away from here, it wouldn't work. How would we be able to have any sort of relationship if we never saw each other?" What would have been the point and purpose of coming to Texas and show up at Jensen's doorstep, if he had only wanted to increase the distance between them? It wouldn't make any sense.

"But you love living in Alaska and I didn't, and still don't, want you to have to give that up for me. I could have visited you." Jared's honesty shines through and it eases a lot of weight off Jensen's shoulders. In the last couple of days and weeks, there had always been the niggling doubt about Jared's honesty, the fear that it was a joke, or a hoax, but now he can see that the other means what he said.

"My job at the compound was over, and I have been offered teaching positions at universities for some time now. Your offer just made me consider them in earnest for the first time." Jensen locks his gaze with Jared's to let the other know that he means it.

Jared nods, and takes a step closer to him. There's hesitation in his movement when he reaches out to rest a hand on Jensen's shoulder. To show that it's okay to touch, Jensen stays standing still, allowing Jared to get comfortable with the physical contact between them.

Before, they had been physical as well. Hugging, clapping on shoulders, or draping arms around each other. There had been the occasional shove, goofing around, and wrestling matches with the dogs. But all these times in the past, their touches had been between friends. Now, there's a new meaning to everything they do, and it makes them cautious, and in Jared's case nervous (since he's never been in this place before).

Jensen just waits for Jared to take the next step. He knows what he wants from Jared. It's Jared who has to make a decision how far he wants to go. What he is comfortable with.

"I have been thinking as well. About what you said the last time." Jared's hand traces over his chest and comes to a stop on Jensen's stomach. "You asked me if I had ever thought about fucking you. I hadn't until then, but I definitely have thought about it ever since. A lot."

Hearing Jared say the word 'fuck' in combination with his person has Jensen suck in a breath. It's almost as if the words electrify him. Boldly, he reaches out to Jared and tugs him closer, his hands clinging to Jared's shirt.

"Jensen, I might not have done this before, and the way I went about things was less than perfect, but I want to tell you again, that I mean it. I am interested in making this work, and I believe that it can." With this, Jared presses against him. The surrealism of the situation has Jensen temporarily wonder if he's dreaming, but the warm palm resting on his belly feels real, its heat seeping through Jensen's shirt.

"It won't be easy if the press reaction of the last time is anything to go by." Jensen wants to make sure that Jared is aware of what is at stake. Jared needs to know that being with Jensen will bring with it more hardship and hurdles than being with Sandy. No one will refer to them as Hollywood's sweethearts, and a fair share of people will hate them, just because they are who they are.

"Easy isn't always happy, and I've learnt that having you with me makes me happy. Ask whoever you like, everyone who knows me will tell you that when you are here I am happier than I've been in a long time." Jared's other hand is placed on Jensen's chest. It feels good to just stand there and share this proximity with him. It's far better than Jensen ever imagined.

Jensen's eyes flicker for a second from Jared's eyes to his lips, and when he looks up again, he realizes that his shift in attention has been noticed. A happy smile tugs at the corners of Jared's mouth, coaxing out the other's dimples. The effect has Jensen smile in return.

Aware that they have to look like sappy idiots, Jensen chuckles, and then pulls Jared closer. He tilts his head up, and at the same time Jared leans down and presses his lips against Jensen's. The kiss is not that great, but it's a start.

Once they start it's hard to stop. Jared walks him backwards, until his calves hit the seat of a chair. Blindly, Jensen reaches back and shoves the chair to the side. They barely break for them maneuvering around the obstacle, and soon Jensen's pressed against the wall of the house with Jared flush against him.

With his hands having found their way under Jared's shirt, Jensen can feel the muscles shift under the skin, can feel Jared's strength. The skin is flushed with the heat and the excitement, and Jared's back is slightly slippery where sweat has accumulated. Nevertheless, Jensen claws at his back and shoulders, trying to get a better hold on Jared.

He isn't sure how long they stay there against the house, but when they have to break for some air, panting against each other's lips, Jensen takes the chance and tries to continue their started conversation.

"I will live in San Francisco during the week, but I can drive down on the weekends." Any further words are downed out by Jared's next kiss.

It's the dogs who put an end to their mouth to mouth action. Sadie and Harley butt their heads against Jared to get his attention. The three of them want their humans to join their playing. When Jared turns to send them off, Jensen gently shoves him away, and steps away from the wall he's been pressed up against.

"Maybe we should play with them." It would give them a chance to cool down a little bit. They really needed to talk some more, resolve some more things, and make decisions about future steps. The way they had been going, not a lot of talking would have been done.

"Jensen…" At Jensen's look he sighs. "Okay."

With that, he picks up the slobbery tennis ball Harley had dropped at his feet, and threw it. The dogs bark and bound after it excitedly.

Jensen straightens his shirt that got a bit mussed by Jared's grabby hands, and when he looks up he finds Jared smiling at him. It's a soft smile that shows the other's affection for him. He smiles back and reaches out to straighten Jared's clothes too.

His attempt is stopped when Jared grabs hold of his wrists. "You put your hands on me, and there will be a whole lot of other playing going on."

The comment has him snort, and he rolls his eyes. "Smooth, Padalecki."

"I thought so myself." The proud tone of Jared's voice has Jensen shake his head.

"No wonder I've been attracted to you for such a long time."

Jared just nods enthusiastically. "I know. I'm just that awesome. But who can't resist, with my good looks, and my rapier wit."

The only answer Jensen gives him is a raised eyebrow, and then he walks off into the direction the dogs disappeared in. They find them wrestling and playing, the tennis ball completely forgotten.

"Their attention span rivals yours." Jensen tosses at Jared. "Must be a trait in the family."

"Hey!" Jared bumps shoulders with him. "I resent that remark. My dogs have a far longer attention span than I have."

The banter has Jensen laugh and he grins teasingly at Jared. They stay standing there, their shoulders touching, and watch the dogs play. Dean breaks loose from the other two dogs and runs over to the humans. He's panting with excitement and exertion.

When the husky reaches them, Jensen crouches down and ruffles Dean's fur. "You show them who's boss?"

Dean just yips happily. He licks Jensen's hands and twists around Jared, before he returns to the other dogs.

After some more time of chasing each other, the dogs join Jared and Jensen, and Jared suggests going down to the beach, tossing the ball and playing with them. So they troop down the stairs and walk some more down to the surf. They have the ball, and a Frisbee with them, and soon Jensen and Jared are busy throwing them around, and wrestling them back from the dogs.

They stay down there for nearly two hours. It's Jared, complaining about hunger, that has them return to the house. This time the dogs come with them inside. They dart off to the kitchen and are already drinking water when Jared and Jensen arrive there as well.

Linda is preparing soup and sandwiches, and glasses of juice are already resting on the breakfast counter. She turns to them, grinning at their disheveled and sun burnt look, and sets two plates of soup next to the glasses.

"Crackers?" Jared's question is accompanied by puppy eyes that would put Dean, Harley, or Sadie to shame. It has Jensen grinning into his own soup, and Linda raising an eyebrow.

In the end she opens a cupboard and gets the crackers, but not before Jared has to plead some more. Jensen politely declines the box when Jared holds it out to him, offering to share his hard earned price. The soup tastes delicious, and he's not a fan of soup crackers in the first place.

After the soup, sandwiches are being set down on the counter, and they both dig in happily. Jensen hadn't even realized how hungry he'd been. The food disappears at an alarmingly rate from the plate, and once their refill is gone as well; Linda gives them a plate of cookies as dessert.

"One would think that the two of you haven't been fed for days." She glares at Jared. "I know for certain that you did eat today."

When Jared makes to reply, his mouth stuffed full with cookies, Jensen whacks him on the elbow. "Dude, keep your mouth shut. You'll spit crumbs everywhere."

"That wouldn't be something new." Linda's comment has Jared give her and Jensen a hurt look. His attempt of making them feel guilty is thwarted though, when he shoves two more cookies into his mouth.

"Charming." Jensen shakes his head and shares a look with Linda. "Maybe I should think about this relationship thing some more."

At this Jared harrumphs. He swallows and turns to Jensen. "Like you would find anyone better than me."

Linda watches them amused. She puts some more cookies on the plate and then leans back against the kitchen cupboard. She seems to enjoy Jared and Jensen's banter.

"I don't know, Chad is serious competition for you." Jensen winks at Linda who bites her lips to keep from laughing.

Jared protests loudly, claiming to be at least ten times more awesome than Chad. When Jensen frowns at him doubtfully, he puffs out his chest and squares his shoulders. This has Linda finally breaking out in laughter, and Jared and Jensen follow her soon after that.

The dogs bark excitedly, thinking that the human's want to play with them, and Dean butts his head against Jensen's leg to make him get up and pay attention to the husky. Jensen just reaches down and scratches behind the dog's ears. When he's making no attempt of getting up, the dogs quickly lose interest and trot off to have some fun without their lazy owners.

Once they are finished with eating, and Linda shoos them out of the kitchen to continue the cleaning up without being distracted, Jared ushers Jensen into the living room, where he wants them to watch a movie. Jensen agrees, letting Jared pick what they are watching. He sits down on the couch, and is joined by Jared as the starting credits roll.

After the first fifteen minutes, Jared's hand has found its resting place on Jensen's thigh and Jensen's leaning against the other's side. Five minutes after that, Jared's thumb is softly stroking over the jeans, making Jensen shift a little closer still. By the time the movie is halfway through, Jensen's lying on his back with Jared covering him, the two of them ignoring the action on screen for the action on the couch.


	3. Chapter 3

A week before the fall term starts, Jared starts on a promotional tour for a movie. The promotion work in the States has been going on for a month now, but the film starts later in Europe and Asia, so the cast is sent first to Germany, France, and Spain, and then they head out to China, Japan and Singapore.

Jensen says his goodbye to Jared at the house, both of them unwilling to let the press and the public pry into their private matters. Once Jared is gone, Jensen packs his things, which have been accumulating in the house over the last two weeks, and loads Dean into the kennel. He promises Linda to call once he's arrived, and then he heads out.

The drive is quiet, and both he and Dean are subdued, already missing the excitement and the tumult of Jared's home. When Jensen arrives hours later at Tom and Mike's place, his friends help him carry the bags, and other things inside. They prepared a barbeque for dinner, and Jensen wonders about the last time he ate so many burgers and steaks.

During his last week of preparations, he tries hard to make up for the slump of the last two weeks. Jensen had been working on lesson plans, and literature lists, but more often than not Jared had gotten bored watching him read and review. Jared being bored usually resulted in Jensen being dragged off to hang out, or, with increasing frequency, to make out.

Thankfully Jensen had already started working on the curriculum and the teaching outline while wrapping things up in Alaska, and so he can send his preliminary plans and lists to the department secretary on time.

The first time he logs onto the intranet of the department and sees his own picture on the website, Jensen stares at the screen for a couple of minutes, somewhat intimidated by the step into a new part of his life. The last days before college starts, he updates the class outlines, the recommended literature, uploads links to relevant websites, and posts pictures from previous expeditions and projects he had participated in.

When he gets the list of students who had enrolled for his courses, he's surprised by how many are interested in his subject, and he works even harder into perfecting his handouts and scripts for the seminar and the course.

His search for accommodation hasn't been too successful yet, and with all the time he's spending on preparing his courses, Jensen has almost no time to invest into finding a new home. He called an agency when he arrived in San Francisco three weeks ago, but until now the offers they sent him are not what he's looking for. Either they are apartments or houses without any yards, or they are huge houses far out of his price range. Tom and Mike both reassure him that they don't mind him staying longer, but Jensen wants to have a house of his own.

It's a coincidence that Jensen finds the house he buys in the end. He takes Dean for his usual run in the evening, just that this time they are running south, a little out of the city. It's suburbia, and there's no mentionable infrastructure, but when Jensen jogs past a rundown house, that looks like it's a Victorian with a large garden, and front yard, he stops and walks around, checking out the property. The neighbors are very helpful, telling him how to contact the owner, and soon Jensen has arranged a visitation of his future home.

The previous owner had been an old man who had lived on his own, and when he died the house went to the daughter of his brother. The young woman isn't interested in it, and now Jensen owns a 2,500 sqft house with four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Dean loves it. There's enough space for him to run around, and Jensen is sure with a little TLC the building will be returned to its previous glory.

When Mike and Tom see Jensen's new home for the first time, they are helping their friend to get all of his belongings from their own house to Jensen's. With two cars they only have to drive once to relocate everything. Mike's first reaction when he sees the house is to turn to Jensen and ask him if he's being serious.

Tom is also rather doubtful of the usability of the rundown building, but none of their arguments or protests are able to dissuade Jensen. In the end, they can only offer to help with the renovation, or at least give Jensen the number of their own handworkers.

Jensen's first day as a teacher doesn't start too promising. During the night, some animal had bitten through the ignition leads of the car, so when Jensen goes to drive to work, the rental won't start. He arrives an hour later than he had intended, only to realize that in his hurry to organize a car, and calling a mechanic, he had left the briefcase with the copied handouts and reading lists in the hall.

Fortunately the department secretary is kind enough to print out the correct amount of handouts for Jensen. It comes as no surprise that when he arrives at room 12.4, there's already a lecture going on, because there had been a last minute change in rooms that Jensen's not aware of.

By the time he arrives in the seminar room, the copies almost flying away from the precarious hold Jensen has on them, and his face sweaty from the mad sprint he did from the wrong to the right room, Jensen wonders how he could have ever considered working as a teacher.

The students are forgiving about his tardiness. Most of them are in a graduate program, and they have a consolidated knowledge about ecology and environmental systems. As it turns out three quarters of the class are already experienced in field and lab work.

Jensen uses the first class to introduce himself, and let the students talk about who they are and what they want to do. He shows them the photos he uploaded onto the e-learning platform, and talks about where they were taken and what Jensen had been doing there.

One of the students recorded the whole class and offers to put the audio file online. Jensen likes the idea so much that he decides to bring a video camera next time and to tape the class. It will make it much easier for his students to study for the exams.

After his course, Jensen makes for his office, and organizes his copies and his books some more. He gets the boxes from the car, and starts to unpack more books, magazines and journals. He hangs a couple of photos from AE and Alaska, as well as a sketch he did of the Northeast Passage the expedition, and puts some rocks he took with him from various places he visited on the desk. Once he's finished, he looks around and is pleased with his work. It feels comfortable and homey.

His call to the mechanic informs him that the spare part for the car is not on stock, and that they'll have to order it which will take a couple of days. Jensen then calls the rental company, and organizes that he'll get to keep the substitute car until the other one is repaired. After thinking about it for a second, Jensen then calls his dad and arranges that his parents will drive out to him with Jensen's own truck, and they'll visit him in his new home.

It's in the evening when he returns home. Dean is giving him the Evil Eye because he had to stay inside, on his own the whole day. After Jensen takes him for a run though, he's forgotten about his displeasure, and plays in the garden, while Jensen works on the flower beds.

The weeds are tall, and they are growing everywhere. At times it seems that there'll be nothing green left after he's done with weeding. In the end there are quite a few bald spots in the lawn, but Jensen's neighbor, who watched him for some time (helpfully pointing out how to go about the garden work), assures him that with a handful of seeds here and a handful of earth there, everything will be perfect in no time at all.

That night Jensen sleeps like a stone, and when the alarm sounds the next morning, he turns around and sleeps some more until the alarm goes off the second time, half an hour later.

The handy workers Jensen calls about the renovations show up on Thursday. They tour the house with Jensen, and check everything out. Their estimate is that it will take quite some time to whip Jensen's home into shape, but the good thing is that even though the house looks to be rundown, there are no structural problems, so most of the work that has to be done is 'cosmetic'. Of course there are some wires that need exchanging, and the plumber says that he wants to repair one of the pipes in the upstairs bathroom.

After the workers leave with the promise to return the next day, Jensen spends some more time in the garden. The seeds he bought need to be sown, and at the gardener's he got some nice flowers, five new trees, and a couple of bushes.

His helpful neighbor shows up when he's well into planting his purchases, and promptly gives him some more advice on where and how to go about planting the flowers. In the evening Jensen proudly surveys his work, and decides that even though there are still some brown patches in the lawn where the new grass has to grow, his garden and the yard look great now.

On Friday, while the workers are starting on the first floor, Jared calls, and he tells him that the promotional tour ends the day after. He asks Jensen to drive down to LA, so that they can spend the rest of the weekend together, but Jensen can't really leave. For one, the plumber can only come in Sunday, and the other reason is, that he has a departmental meeting early Monday morning, so he would have to leave Sunday afternoon the latest and that would leave them barely a couple of hours to see each other anyway.

Jared is upset that Jensen declines, but he then decides that once his work in LA is done, he'll fly up to San Francisco and visit Jensen himself. The rest of the phone call they catch up on what the other has been doing the last two weeks, and Jensen proudly tells him about his first week as a teacher, and his work on the house and the garden.

The house looks like a construction site. There's a scaffold covering the façade and the painter is sanding down the wooden boards to repaint them. Since the plumber is fixing the upper bathroom, Jensen has to wash, and shower downstairs, and while the electrician is rewiring the kitchen and the living room, Jensen has to jog to the coffee shop two miles away for his breakfast.

Dean is suspicious of the strangers in the beginning, but he spends most of the time in the garden. Once he comes to realize that none of the workers are going to bother him, he just ignores the men that are crawling all over the house.

Working at home for his courses is almost impossible during the day. The noise, the constant outages, and the dust that seems to hang permanently in the air, have him retreat into the garden during the day. Only once everyone has gone home, and he's aired out the rooms, does he start on preparations and reviews for college.

During one of his hideouts in the back of the garden, Jensen decides that he wants a pond in one corner. His neighbor, who has been curiously watching the goings on, is this time actually really of help, when he gives Jensen the number of a gardener that specializes in water plants and ponds. Pocketing the paper Jensen decides to give him a call some time during the week, maybe once the chaos that is his house has calmed down a bit.

The repainting of the façade is finished on Wednesday, and with the new coat of paint and the great work on the garden, the house looks really impressive now. The painter had urged Jensen to get rid of the wisteria that is growing over the north and part of the east side of the house, but Jensen likes the look it gives, and so the vine stays.

Work on the pond will start in two weeks, and so far Jensen has looked over the designs he got, deciding on the one he likes. Jared calls him in the evening, and tells him that he'll be finished the next day. He asks about the work on the house, and Jensen proudly tells him about how great everything's starting to look.

It is decided that Jared will not fly up, but drive and bring Sadie and Harley with him. The garden should be large enough for all three dogs.

In his second week as a teacher, Jensen happily has more luck with arriving on time to his courses and meetings. The departmental meeting on Monday is perfect to meet his new colleagues, and he finally gets to meet the other teacher of the seminar. Professor Whitfield will start with his part of the course in October, and the two of them agree to sit together some time the following week to talk about how to best combine the two parts of the seminar.

This time he gives his students a short home exercise, and when the first papers are sent in, Jensen enthusiastically starts to work on them. The idea of teaching young people about things he loves is still very exciting to him.

Tom and Mike visit him on Tuesday, and they are quite impressed with the changes that have happened to the house so far. Their previous pessimism transforms into downright excitement when they talk with Jensen what still has to be done, and they offer to go and get new furniture in the none too distant future.

When Jared arrives Thursday evening, the workers have already gone home for the day. Dean is running around on the front yard, barking at the GMC truck, and getting his answer from Harley and Sadie inside the car.

Once the door opens and Jared gets out, the husky shoots off and jumps him. Doggy kisses and yipping accompany Jared's walk to the back of the car, and then the three dogs are off, running around in the back of the house.

Jensen smiles happily at the display, and he watches Jared walking up to him. There's a blinding smile on his face, and while approaching Jensen, Jared theatrically turns around, looks the house up and down, and pretends to be awestruck.

"Idiot." Jensen whacks him on the arm.

"What?" Jared grins mischievously at him. "It's beautiful."

When Jensen rolls his eyes, Jared looks at him in earnest.

"No, really. It's beautiful." Pride fills Jensen at the words and he drags Jared off to show him what has already been done, point out what he still wants to change, and presents his garden, of which he's incredibly proud.

They end up in Jensen's kitchen, which thankfully is fully functioning again, and Jensen starts on making them dinner.

"I like the house, Jensen. It's great." Jared is leaning against the door frame, watching Jensen move around the room, getting pots and pans out of cupboards, cutting vegetables and meat, and cooking them.

"Yeah, there's still a lot of work, but it looks so much better than it did a week ago." He adds the meat to the garlic he's been roasting gently. "There are some shingles that need replacing, nothing too bad, but I was told it's better to do it now than wait. The floor boards on the porch in the back will be sanded down and get a new coat, and I think I'll replace the window in the downstairs bathroom. It's not broken or anything, but it's drafty."

Jensen almost drops his spoon he's stirring the food with, when two arms warp around him, and he can feel Jared leaning against his back.

"I missed you the last two couple of weeks." Jared's voice is right next to his ear, and he can feel the other's breath ghosting against the shell. "I liked hearing your updates on how the house is coming along. Made me feel like I'm participating in it myself."

"Well, you'll get to participate all you like the next couple of days." Jensen dials down the heat of the stove and turns around, smiling at Jared. "I'm glad that you could come."

At this Jared just grins and then leans down to kiss Jensen. The awkward angle, with which he's pressed against the stove, has Jensen blindly reach behind him to get some hold. The kiss deepens and goes on for some time, only ending once they've run out of breath.

"I should finish cooking before anything burns." Jared unwillingly lets go of Jensen, but helps with setting the table.

Once the food is ready, and the full plates are on the table, they eat, talking some more about what happened while they had been apart. Jensen describes in great detail Mike and Tom's reaction when they saw the house the first time. And he has Jared laughing about his Mike impersonation.

Jared talks about visiting Europe and Asia, telling Jensen about how boring and tedious promotional work is, and how he sometimes woke up, not remembering in which country he's right now. Jensen asks about the cities Jared's been to, but most of the times Jared never got the chance to see anything of the places they went to.

After they are finished with their dinner, Jensen soaks the dishes and the pots and pans in the sink. Having Jared with him is more important, and of course, much more interesting than doing the dishes. They curl up on the couch in front of the huge TV, Mike and Tom had insisted he get, and start on a DVD that his friends left with him.

They never make it through the movie, because sometime between the hero jumping out of a burning building, and the villain kidnapping the hero's girl, they get distracted by each other. The rest of the movie is spent kissing, which doesn't end with the end credits on screen.


	4. Chapter 4

The reaction of the workers when they arrive the next day is kind of hilarious. Jared is sitting in the kitchen, wearing only sweats and his sneakers from his run with the dogs. Jensen swears Jim, the painter, really does a double take. The baffled looks are ignored by Jared, who shakes everyone's hand and talks with them about the progress on the house, as if he was one of the workers himself.

Jared gets so invested in the renovation, that he spends the whole morning and a good part of the afternoon, carrying things to and from the workers, hammers nails, sands wood, and keeps the men steadily supplied with water and juice.

Jensen uses the time to grade some more papers and prepare a slide show of pictures from his last trip to Greenland and Iceland. Chuck, for that is how Professor Whitfield wants to be called, is specialized in marine ecology, and they decided that it would be a good idea if Jensen talks in detail about glaciers and ice fields in the Arctic Circle.

Some time in the afternoon, Jared joins him in the study, or at least the bedroom that has been adapted to be a temporary office for Jensen. After watching Jensen for a couple of minutes, he decides that their time could be spent more productively. That's how Jensen finds himself shirtless, and breathless, on his desk.

He likes the determination with which Jared approaches the sexual aspect of their relationship. Even though they yet have to have full sex, it's Jensen, not Jared, who stops them just before things get too far. He's had sex, and he wants sex, but something has him make Jared wait. And if the other respects him he will.

Jensen is lying on the desk, on his back, and Jared has his hands inside Jensen's pants. They are busy making each other sweat, and when Jared's fingers close around his dick, Jensen shudders. It feels just too good. Knowing that it's Jared who touches him like this and that it's real and not some jerk off fantasy makes it even better.

His hands seek hold on the surface of the desk, and soon Jensen crumples printed out lesson plans and handouts for college. With every jerk Jared grows bolder, and soon Jensen throws his head back, his back arched and he pants for breath.

"Come on." Jared's words are growled, and Jensen watches through his lashes how Jared bites his lips. His cheeks are flushed, and there's an excited gleam in Jared's eyes.

It doesn't take too long for Jensen after that to lose it, and he comes with a couple of spurts. He sucks more air and tries to move, to sit up. The effort it takes to achieve this small feat is incredible.

Jared grins at him, pleased. There's sweat on his brow, and Jensen leans forward, licking it away.

"Gross." Jared's remark has Jensen laugh softly, and he reaches out for Jared's hand that is still flecked with Jensen's sperm, and he licks it clean.

Maybe Jared thinks that to be gross as well, but apparently he thinks it to be very arousing. Between one lick and another, Jensen is once more pressed onto the desk again, and Jared starts to eagerly hump against him. His movement is accompanied by deeps kisses, and Jensen just cards his fingers through Jared's hair and lets him take control.

The end comes very quickly, and afterwards Jared slumps onto Jensen. Even though he'll have to make Jared move soon, Jensen lets himself enjoy the weight and the heat that's Jared Padalecki lying on him.

"You're heavy." Once the weight gets too much, Jensen shoves at Jared's shoulders and makes him get up.

Jared stretches and the sight of his stomach muscles makes Jensen reach out and trace his finger up under his muscle shirt. The skin feels hot to the touch and it's a little slippery from sweat. His hand is stopped by Jared's fingers wrapping around Jensen's wrist.

"If you don't want to be crushed by me again, you better stop this." Jensen grins sheepishly but stops his touching.

"Come on; let's check on how the workers are." Jensen wants to step past Jared, but Jared refuses to let go of him. He tugs lightly at the wrist he's holding. It has Jensen stumble slightly into Jared. "I thought you said we should stop?"

"I said no such thing. I said that if **you** don't want to be crushed you should stop." Jared grins mischievously. "I never said that I had to let go of you."

Rolling his eyes, Jensen pulls Jared after him out of the office and downstairs. The painting of the porch is coming along nicely. The fresh white paint goes perfectly with the pale yellow of the façade. It gives the whole building a positive feeling.

Jim grins when he sees Jared and Jensen, and for a second Jensen fears that he knows what happened in the office. It's not that it's any of the other man's business but after the press chaos the last time someone saw Jensen and Jared together (and at that time they had done nothing else but hang out together), he is somewhat reluctant to draw too much attention to the nature and depth of relationship between them.

As it turns out Jim is grinning at Jared who's sneaking up behind Jensen and smears paint on his cheek. With a surprised holler and a cruse that would make a sailor blush, Jensen swivels around and glares at Jared. Jared at least has the sense to look contrite, but the amused sparkle in his eyes reveals that he's not as sorry as he's supposed to be.

The dogs excitedly join in when Jensen stalks after Jared who's cautiously edging away from Jensen, laughing all the time. Harley barks happily and butts against his human as if to get him to start the game that the dogs expect him to play. When Jensen and Jared do nothing but move at a slow pace through the garden, the dogs lose their interest and leave their owners to their strange behavior.

In the end Jensen doesn't get to pay Jared back, because one of the workers calls him inside to ask him on his preferences with the changes that they are making. The interruption is one of many the next couple of days, and when Jared has to leave the following week they don't get to say the same intimate goodbye as they did at Jared's home.

Jared's departure reminds Jensen on the work he's still got to do for his courses, and so he spends the whole night and as much time as possible the next day on reviewing his handouts.

The students are great. So far they have mostly worked through the introductory part of the case load, and now that they finally get to more specialized topics, Jensen can get to know them better. It's interesting to find out how different one and the same case can be interpreted, and there are momentous discussions going on during the seminar.

Danneel's phone call comes as a surprise. They've been in contact by e-mail from time to time, but with both of them busy settling into the academic life, the gaps between their writing have been rather large. So, when his phone in the office on Campus rings, Jensen looks up confused. No one ever calls on the landline, it's easier to reach him on his cell phone, and it takes a second for Jensen to realize where the sound is coming from.

Curiously he picks up only to be greeted by amused laughter.

"Well, took you long enough to pick up. You busy? Jared with you?" Jensen snorts at the last question.

"How I did not miss your bad jokes." He caps the pen and leans back into the office chair.

"Liar, I know that you're crying yourself to sleep every night." Danneel's more laughing than talking through the phone. "But don't fret, I'm here. Everything will be fine."

This has Jensen break out in laughter as well.

"You mean that it can't get any worse?" He thinks about the Alpine and Artic Research department, and imagines Danneel sitting behind the desk of Dr. Kripke's office. Of course his friend has a different office, but it's what his mind comes up with, when he thinks of her in combination of UA.

"Aw, you're trying to be huffy. How cute." She coos.

"I'm not cute. Who ever told you that I'm cute? I'm tough and manly, I'll have you know." Jensen theatrically puffs out his chest even though Danneel can't see it. "Anyone who says anything else is lying."

"Sure, if it gets you through the day." Danneel sounds doubtful with a hint of cheeky.

A student sticks in his head , wanting to know of Jensen has the time to answer some questions. Jensen nods at him and then turns back to his conversation with his friend. "Hey, I've got to do my teacher thing now, but how about I call you in the evening?"

"You better."

With the promise of a continuation of their talk Jensen hangs up and turns his attention to the student who's awkwardly standing in the middle of the office. It's obvious that he's uncomfortable with interrupting Jensen's phone call.

"I'm sorry." More squirming, and Jensen takes pity on the young man.

"Oh no, don't be. It's no problem." He points at the chair in front of his desk and waits for the student to sit down. "So, how can I help you?"

"I'm in your seminar you're teaching together with Prof Whitfield, and I was wondering if you would need a TA with the external course?" The question takes Jensen by surprise. He hasn't considered a TA and so far the work load is easily manageable, but the interest the student displays makes him want to offer something.

"Well, I'm new to the department, and my workload isn't as full as other teachers, so I can't take on a TA at the moment. But, if you're interested, I'm also working as a guest lecturer at the University of Alberta. During Spring Break next year, they'll be going on a small research expedition. I could use some help with that." Jensen doesn't know if the young man is interested in glaciology, or if that far into the future he still wants to help, but it's the only thing he can offer at the moment.

"That sounds interesting." There's a look of disappointment on his face though.

"What's your name?" Jensen tries to remember the face from class, but even though there's a very vague recollection of seeing the face, he can't remember the student's name.

"Kerr Smith."

"Okay, Kerr. I'll talk to you some more about the expedition next year when things are getting moving." Jensen looks encouragingly at Kerr, and hopes that the student hasn't lost interest in Jensen's course now.

"Okay, thanks." The young man gets up and says his goodbye.

Once the door is closed behind the student Jensen goes back to work. He stays later than usual because an e-mail sent to him by the department secretary reminds him that he hasn't reviewed the exam dates, and there are still some forms he has to fill out to get all the permits for the external course location.

Dean huffs at him when Jensen unlocks the door that evening. The husky's lying in the hall, watching the entrance. He's been waiting for Jensen everyday, and it makes Jensen feel guilty for leaving Dean all on his own.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry." He dashes to the bedroom and quickly changes into his running clothes. He notices in passing that the rewiring seems to be completed and that there are new coats of paint in most of the rooms upstairs.

His running shoes in hand, Jensen almost runs back downstairs. He slips into them, not bothering with the strings, and then he heads out with Dean. Their jog takes them down the street and past the fire station. Behind the small chapel, they turn to the left and run down the road that leads through the fields.

The evening is warm and a slight breeze makes sure that running is enjoyable. Dean darts after rabbits and runs ahead. It's their usual route and both of them like the quiet and peace of the farm track. The dirt makes running much more comfortable then the paved roads.

From the track, they arrive at the gravel road that leads to the farm, but they run down the other way, ending up in the road back to their street. The exercise has Jensen sweat and he stretches on his font yard before going in and getting some water for himself and Dean.

On the porch, he sits down on the stairs and looks out into the garden. Everything is growing and flourishing. The bright colors of the flowers and bushes are welcome spots in the green of the rest of the garden. There's even new grass starting to grow in the bald spots.

Dean noisily drinks his water, greedily lapping the liquid. A movement at the back of the garden has Jensen look closer and he sees a shabby ginger and tabby cat slink through the bushes. The animal carefully watches its surroundings and when it notices Jensen watching, the cat stops in its tracks and stares at the human.

For some time they remain like this, Jensen sitting still and the cat not moving a muscle, one front paw raised for the next step. When Dean suddenly pushes past Jensen, knocking him to the side, and darts off towards it, the cat disappears through the bushes and the fence into the small wood behind.

"Dean!" Jensen calls the dog back.

At first the husky ignores him, sniffing the spot where the other animal disappeared, but when he can't find anything, he disappointedly returns to Jensen. He sits down in front of the human and whines pitifully.

"Don't look at me like that. It's your fault the cat ran." Jensen tries to reprimand the husky, but the sad puppy eyes have him succumb in seconds, and so he finds himself rubbing the dog's sides and scratching him behind the ears.

After consoling Dean, Jensen gets his cell phone from the house and sits back down on the stairs. He opens his contacts list and scrolls down to Danneel's name. Jensen calls her and waits for his friend to pick up.

"Hey there!" She picks after the second ring. "So, got all your important teaching stuff done in the afternoon?"

"Yeah, had to stay late though because I forgot to file some paperwork, and the department secretary had to send me a reminder of the deadline for it." There's once again movement in the back of the garden, and the cat returns. This time she quickly darts to the (fence?), and disappears behind it.

"Damn, I know how that is. I've been filling out so many forms, writing so many requests and reports I feel like a secretary myself." Her groan has Jensen chuckle.

"Yeah, there's nothing better than some nice paperwork to fill your day." He takes another sip from his water glass and stretches his legs out.

"So, tell me. Is the hunk from Hollywood around?" Danneel's nickname causes Jensen to break out in laughter, and it takes a couple of seconds before he calms down again.

"The hunk from Hollywood?" His voice is teasing.

"Well, he's a hunk, and he's from Hollywood. So, the Hunk from Hollywood." Danneel seems to be irrationally proud of her name for Jared. "So, what now? Is he staying with you or is he in LA?"

"Jared's in LA and he'll leave in two days for work. They're shooting some action movie, and parts of it are shot on location in Europe. He's going to Prague." The thought of Jared leaving for two months makes him sad, but they knew from the beginning that there would be times where either of them has to travel for work.

"That sucks. How long is he going to be away?" There's the sound of toenails clicking and then Dean lies down, leaning against Jensen's back.

"Two months in Prague, and then they'll do the rest in the studio in LA. He'll be rather busy then as well." Jensen sighs and forces himself to stop worrying about long separation. They'll just have to spend some more time together after that.

"Well, that leaves more time for you to spend with your friends." Danneel's attempt of cheering him up has Jensen smile. "I can't wait for your first stint up here in Alberta. It will be good to see you again. I can't even remember anymore what you look like. You've got black hair and a red beard, right? And glasses!"

Jensen laughs out loud. "Yeah, and don't forget my beaked nose."

"Oh my, how could I." The banter chases away the last remnants of worry about Jared and he basks in the last rays of the evening's sun.

"So, tell me, how was your start at UA?" Jensen's curious how everyone at Dr. Kripke's department is doing, and in their e-mails they never went into too much detail about them both starting at university.

Danneel takes a deep breath and launches into her tale about relocating from Alaska to Canada, and starting as a teacher at UA. She has Jensen laugh about her first meeting with Dr. Kripke, and he tells her about all the things that happened on his own first day at Stanford.

Their call lasts for almost an hour, and at the end they promise to call each other more often from now on. With Jensen's upcoming class at UA, they'll need to arrange for him to stay with her for a couple of days anyway. After they say their goodbye, Jensen stays sitting on the steps for some more time.


	5. Chapter 5

The last week of October, Jensen flies up to Edmonton for his lecture at UA. Danneel picks him up from the airport and they drive to her apartment, which is right next to the campus. Jensen teases her about almost living in a dorm, but she just whacks him on the back of his head and tells him to shut up.

Dean is staying with Mike and Tom, and Mrs. Gabbles is feeding the cat. It turned out that the ginger and tabby cat that had been slinking around Jensen's garden is a girl cat with four kittens. They find out about it when the gardener comes to dig out the pond. It is decided that the shed will be torn down and the pond put at its place. When the workers start tearing down boards and shingles from the ramshackle construction they find four baby kittens hidden in a nest of old towels behind stacks of boxes.

Jensen puts the little animals into a basket he's lined with a soft towel, and takes them inside. When the mother returns later and finds the people taking apart what was her home, she hunkers down in the bushes and watches them move around. While the men take a break and sit on the porch drinking water, she moves closer to the remnants of the shed and starts looking around and meowing for her babies.

Dean is locked into the house and Jensen takes the basket and slowly and cautiously approaches the cat. The animal hides under a stack of boards and Jensen sets down the new nest of the kittens. Walking backwards from them he watches as the cat slowly crawls closer to the basket.

The men pretend to look away, but they all watch her carry her babies back to the bushes. Once all of the kittens are hidden, Jensen gets the basket and lets Dean outside again. The husky looks at him like he betrayed the dog, and curls up under the table next to Martin, the boss of the work troop.

Worrying about the cat and her kittens, Jensen takes to leaving food at the edge of the bushes every evening. The milk and meat is gone every morning but he doesn't know if the cat eats it or maybe raccoons or rats get to it before she does. It's five days later that Jensen looks out of the bathroom window when he gets ready for bed. He sees the cat sitting at the bowls and wolfing down the chow Jensen left for her.

Suddenly Jensen feels like he's responsible for the feline family, and so he finds himself in a pet store buying cat food, and bottles of cat milk (the shop assistant is eager to point out that it is healthier than normal milk for cats). From then on Jensen feeds the cat in the mornings and the evenings. It takes a week or two and she's used to his presence, not even moving when he waters the flowers in the garden.

Dean tries to play with her in the beginning, but Jensen's reprimands have him ignore the feline after that. The husky can't help but not so subtly watch the cat eat.

Another two weeks after that when she shows up the four kittens are with her. Two of them are tabby, one is ginger, and one is white tabby and ginger. The small cats carefully copy their mother, and Jensen brings some more food to make sure that everyone of them is fed.

This is how Jensen now lives with five cats and a dog. While the cats aren't coming inside, preferring to live in the wood behind Jensen's property, they occasionally allow him to pet them. His elderly neighbor, Mrs. Gabbles is instantly in love with the cats, and Jensen asks her to feed them for him while he's gone.

So, with his pets taken care of, Jensen can enjoy his stay with Danneel the next four days. The course he teaches is compressed into three units of three days each. It will be packed tight, but it enables him to teach at both Stanford and UA.

The drive from the airport to Danneel's is spent talking about Jensen's schedule the next three days. Danneel insists on helping with the part that deals with their work in Alaska. According to her it would be boring to just wait for Jensen to finish everyday; she wants to be occupied as well.

They arrive in front of the house and Jensen grabs his bag from the backseat, following his friend inside. The apartment reminds him of the one he and Mike lived in during their student days at UA. He guesses that the majority of tenants are students of UA.

Danneel lives on the fourth floor, and when she unlocks the door, Jensen steps into a comfortable apartment that he likes instantly.

"Very nice." He sets his bag down in the hall and toes off his shoes.

"Well, it's not your house but I like it." Danneel shrugs out of her coat and ushers Jensen down the hallway to the living room. "I have no guest room because I turned it into my office, but I can offer you the couch."

"That's fine." Jensen walks around the room and inspects everything. When he finds a photo of him, Danneel and the team, he picks it up and turns around to his friend. "You miss them as well?"

"Like you won't believe. Jeff e-mailed me last week and he told me that the project will wrap up around Christmas time and the dogs will be shipped to Kim after that." Jensen nods at that. Jeff had sent him an e-mail as well, and Kim had given him a call asking some more in detail information about the team.

"So, how about some dinner?" She walks to the kitchen and Jensen sets the framed picture down again to follow her.

"I'm starving. With getting Dean to Mike and Tom, and me leaving early to get a couple of books from the bookstore that I ordered for the course, I haven't eaten since breakfast. The strange thing they tried to hand out on the plane doesn't count. It looked like someone had already eaten it once." He leans against the door frame to stay out of Danneel's way.

"I have yet to eat food on a plane that I like." She gets meat out of the fridge and seasons it. "Steak and vegetables alright with you?"

"Perfect." And with that she starts cooking. Jensen asks to help and gets to cut vegetables and prepare the salad. He sets the table and gets them something to drink.

Once the food is ready, Danneel serves it and they eat, chatting about their week. Afterwards she puts the dishes into the dishwasher and throws the leftovers into the garbage.

They relocate into the living room where they plop down onto the couch. Jensen feels full from the delicious food and sighs content-

"So, how's Jared." Danneel's question has Jensen shrug and he stares ahead.

"He's okay." But his voice is lacking conviction.

"What's the matter, Jensen?" She turns to face him, and it makes him uncomfortable to have her stare at him this closely.

"Nothing's the matter, it's just that he's very busy and we haven't talked much." He tries to downplay his disappointment about the lack of calls there have been between them. What he said is the truth. Jared is very busy, and the time difference doesn't make things any better. But lately whenever they do manage to talk, Jensen gets the impression that Jared would prefer to do something else.

"Well, he'll be back in a week, right?" She tries to make Jensen feel better, and it has him smile weakly at her.

"Yeah, but they have more work to do still. He won't be much better off time wise."

"But at least the time difference won't be a problem anymore." Jensen isn't so sure that this will improve anything at all. Worse, if Jared comes back and things continue as they are now, Jensen will feel even more down.

"Yeah, it will be better once he's in LA." He looks around the room trying to find something to start another conversation. He doesn't want to spoil his time with his friend with his stupid worries about Jared.

Danneel seems to sense Jensen's wish to drop the subject and she reaches for the remote and declares that they have to watch this movie she found at the movie rental place. So the next two hours they spend watching a team of sled dogs surviving on their own in the Antarctic after they couldn't be evacuated from their research station.

The movie is a family movie but they enjoy it never the less, and they can't stop mocking the acting skills of the actor who plays the musher. At one time Danneel is copying the look on the actor's face and has Jensen laugh so hard he's gasping for air.

That night he sleeps deeply on the couch, and when Danneel wakes him the next morning with a freshly brewed cup of copy, he declares her to be his goddess. They get ready for university and walk over to the campus with groups of students from their apartment building. Jensen almost feels like he's back at college himself.

His course is packed, and over the next three days he talks more than he's ever done in his whole life. Every evening Danneel drags him off to the pub down the block of her apartment. She claims that all that talking dehydrates Jensen and the only way he can make sure he stays healthy is to drink lots of beer.

Every night he falls more than a little tipsy onto the couch and snores loudly until Danneel wakes him the next morning. Jensen is sure that he has to look like a bum with his puffy eyes. But he enjoys himself too much to stop their routine.

On the last evening, Dr. Kripke asks them to go for dinner with him, and the three of them go to some Italian place the professor likes. It's no family place, but it's nothing too fancy either. For the first time in days, Jensen has something else than beer when he orders a glass of red wine. The food is delicious and catching up with his former professor is something Jensen enjoys immensely. He asks about the project next Spring Break and tells Dr. Kripke about Kerr.

The morning of the day Jensen has to leave, Danneel insists on going for breakfast at the coffee shop on campus. So, after Jensen has made sure everything is packed, they take a short stroll which ends at the coffee shop.

They are sitting at the window, and the waitress has just taken their order. Danneel looks at him and there's a serious look on her face.

"Jensen, about Jared." Jensen tenses, waiting for what comes next. "I know that you're a guy and guys don't like talking about things like relationships, but still, don't give up too easily. Usually the rough spots come later on, but with the two of you, you have to do everything backwards. Just keep in mind that the great part is still waiting to happen."

He stares out of the glass front of the shop and nods tersely. Danneel means well, and Jensen is grateful to have her as a friend, but right now nothing she says or does can change how things are and how Jensen feels about them.

"Okay, and now let's eat some breakfast and talk about things that are more fun." She sits back and smiles warmly at him, Jensen can see her reflection on the glass.

Their conversation returns slowly, but by the time the coffee and their _Missing Home_ special student breakfast arrives, with everything that one could think of, they are once more laughing about funny stories and incidents that happened the last three days.

After breakfast, where they both ate so much that they're almost green in the face, Danneel and Jensen stroll back to the apartment and pick up Jensen's bags. They drive to the airport, already planning on what to do when Jensen's next lecture comes up. Unsurprisingly, Danneel's suggestions mostly start with _b_ and end with_eer_.

Jensen makes her promise not to wave with a white handkerchief as he walks through customs, and so their final parting is far less dramatic than it could be. Almost an hour early, Jensen wanders through the duty free area, buys a pink grapefruit Snapples at Starbucks, and browses through different shops.

In a small gift shop, Jensen finds a key chain that looks like an intricate ice crystal made of silver. It may look a bit feminine but he likes it so much, that he buys the key chain and switches his keys from his old metal ring to the new one, tying the broken leather strap from Dean's first leash to it. In the book shop, Jensen buys two magazines, one featuring a large photo of Jared, the other one the new National Geographic.

When it's finally time to board the plane, he makes for his terminal, and a short time later he's sitting in his seat, magazines on his lap, and waits for the plane to depart.

The flight assistants give their 'flight show' and then the "fasten seatbelts" sign lights up. The man next to Jensen stares ahead, close to panicking. There's sweat on his brow, and his fingers claw into the arm rest between them. Jensen carefully keeps his hands in his lap, worrying that the guy might grab it and break a couple of his fingers with his vice like grip.

During the flight, Jensen does his best to ignore the man, and only when the refreshment cart stops next to them, offering food and drinks, he has to converse with the stranger. The rest of the time Jensen keeps busy reading and sleeping.

Once the plane is starting the landing procedures, the man next to him goes all pale and his hold on the armrest gets even tighter. For a moment Jensen fears that he'll break his fingers from gripping so tight. The flight attendant, who's been trying to calm the guy down the whole flight, is smiling encouragingly at him, but it doesn't help.

Jensen waits for him to leave, and unsurprisingly the man is the first to go off board. It's a couple of minutes later that Jensen leaves the plane and makes for the baggage claim.

Tom is waiting at the arrivals, and he's holding up a self-made name plate. There are paw prints on it and weird doodles. Tom is wearing sunglasses and he cranes his neck to get a better look at the people coming outside. Once he's spotted Jensen, he tucks the plate under his arm and walks up to him.

"Hi Jensen." Tom's attempt of helping with the bags is stopped, and Jensen commandeers a trolley with which he follows his friend.

"Nice name plate." Jensen sees Tom flinch. "Mike's idea?"

"Yeah, he thought that since Thanksgiving isn't too far away, lots of traveling would be going on, and it would be easier to find each other this way." What his friend doesn't say anything about is the embarrassment factor of the whole thing.

"Thanks for picking me up." At this Tom just nods.

The car is right at the exit of the garage. Jensen stows away his bags, shoving the magazines into the duffle bag with the teaching material, and gets into the car. It's warmer in San Francisco than it was in Edmonton, but with winter just around the corner it isn't hot either. Jensen likes the weather of this time of the year.

Tom asks him about his time at UA and how Danneel is doing, and Jensen happily talks about the course, his students, meeting Dr. Kripke, and spending time with Danneel. His friend laughs about the stories tells him about their nightly outings to the local pub, and Jensen has to promise that he'll go out with Mike and Tom in the not too distant future.

Mike is already waiting with Dean at the curb as the two of them pull up, and the husky enthusiastically greets Jensen as he gets out of the car. Jensen pets the dog, crouching down and letting him lick his face and hands, barking and yipping with joy.

The display of exhilaration has Mike grumble. "As if we tortured him and now he's getting rescued."

This has Jensen and Tom laugh. Once the dog has calmed down somewhat, Jensen greets his friend, and they head into the house.

He stays until the evening with them, just hanging and having fun. Since Jensen has been rather busy with the preparation of his first 'marathon' session at UA, they haven't had the time to meet the last couple of weeks.

After dinner, which is chili cooked by Jensen, since Mike's attempts of cooking Tex-Mex always end up in the garbage, Tom and Jensen get ready to head out for Jensen's home. Once more he has to promise that the three of them will go out for a drink sometime this week. With Mike cleaning the kitchen, Jensen gets Dean's stuff, and they head out.

Dean is loaded into the car, and Tom takes the two, dog and human, to their own home. The drive doesn't take too long, and soon Jensen is letting Dean out of the back of the car, and takes his bags. He says his thanks and heads up the path to the front door. In the back, he can hear his friend drive off. Jensen sets down his bags next to the door, and digs through his pockets for his keys.

Unlocking he lets Dean in, who wedges past him in the hurry to get inside, and then picks up his luggage and enters himself. There's a bit of a stale smell in the air, but once he's carried his bags up to the bedroom, he opens a window and the door to the porch, and lets fresh air in.

Jensen takes a short walk around the house and checks everything, and then walk out onto the porch. He sits down on the stairs to the garden, and takes out is phone. Dialing Jared's number he looks out over the garden, checking if everything is alright here, as well.

The phone rings a couple of times, and then it goes to the mailbox. Jensen waits for the beep and takes a deep breath. "Hi Jared. I know that it's in the middle of the night in Europe, but I just wanted to ask about the date of your arrival. Maybe I could visit on the weekend after? Just send me a message or call me if you have the time, and let me know. Bye, Jensen."

He ends the call and stares down at his hands which are holding the cell phone in their grasp. Once more the only thing he heard is Jared's mailbox message. Maybe he'll call back this time. The only thing he can do is wait and see.


	6. Chapter 6

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving and since Jensen's parents had promised to drive to San Francisco with Jensen's truck, it had been decided that this year's feast is going to take place at Jensen's house. With the way from Dallas to San Francisco being so long, everyone has taken two weeks off, and they'll arrive early and stay with Jensen after the holiday. Mackenzie, and Josh with Sara and Emily, are arriving by plane, and will be picked up by Jensen and Tom. His parents are supposed to arrive in the evening of the same day.

In the last three weeks, Jensen hasn't seen Jared once, and even though Jared is back from Europe, his busy work schedule and the preparations for his stint at hosting an episode of SNL, is having him spend his time in studios.

They have talked no more than three times. Each time Jensen called and Jared actually had the time to pick up and talk, their conversation had been stilted, with Jared sounding stressed and not really into the things they were talking about. So Jensen has stopped bothering him, wondering what he's supposed to do now.

He could ask Tom and Mike, or Chris. There's also the possibility of calling Danneel, but actually talking with someone else about this, would make things much more real, and would have Jensen spend more time on thinking about and interpreting their situation. Right now he's only upset and worrying, after some friendly advice he would be even more upset and tempted to act rashly.

It had been clear from the beginning that Jared's work is demanding, and it had also been clear that there would be times when he would be gone for weeks and months at a time. What Jensen had not counted on, is the lack of any contact from and with Jared. But there are no e-mails and no calls.

This has Jensen a bit depressed, and he does his best to get rid of the funk he can feel sneaking upon him. Thanksgiving and his family's visit is just the distraction he needs right now. Having so many people stay with him calls for preparations, and so he finds himself furniture shopping with his friends, and turning the two empty bedrooms into guest rooms, as well as getting a foldout couch for the office. Mike bothers Jensen so long, until he breaks, and sells most of his old furniture and puts down payments for new furniture in the rest of the house as well.

He keeps the old fashioned pantries in the kitchen, and the antique table and chairs in the living/dining room. The couch is swapped for a new leather one, and the shelves and dressers in the living room, the office, and the bedroom are replaced. With everything new and the old things polished the house starts to look really fancy.

On the day before everyone arrives, Jensen cleans the whole house, and buys enough food to feed an army. He makes up the beds and puts towels and slippers into each room. The couch on the office is pulled out, and Jensen prepares everything for Mackenzie's visit.

Dean can feel the nervousness of the upcoming visit, but he doesn't understand what has his owner in such uproar. The dog trails after Jensen from one room to the other, sniffing at the new furniture, and hiding out whenever Jensen starts the hover.

The morning of his family's arrival, Jensen has to teach. He gets up extra early to make sure that he gets to finish all the administrative work on time, so that he can leave for the airport. The students are excited, many of them talking about going home to their families for the holiday. Jensen doesn't reprimand them, he knows how they feel.

Once he's finished work, Jensen calls Tom and tells him that he's leaving university and heading back to San Francisco. His friend promises to be on time, and Jensen gets his things, and heads for the car. He turns on the radio and leaves for the airport to get Mackenzie and Josh.

The drive is short, there are for once no traffic jams or construction anywhere, and surprisingly he finds a spot to park after only one round through the parking lot. Having parked and locked the car, Jensen makes for the arrival hall, and moves with and through the crowd that bustles around the airport. People are laughing and smiling, picking up family and friends, or departing to meet them.

There are a lot of families and groups gathered in front of the gate to the baggage claim, and Jensen waits at the side. It's still half an hour until Mac and the others arrive, and Tom won't be here for another fifteen minutes either. Jensen watches the people around him and wonders what they'll be doing during the holiday.

On his right, a small shop sells snacks and drinks, and he realizes that he hasn't eaten since breakfast, which had consisted of a dry piece of toast and half a cup of coffee. His stomach growling, Jensen gets himself a cream cheese bagel with salmon and a bottle of water. Munching his food, he returns to his previous post and continues to wait.

He's just finishing his drink, when a call to his left has him turn around.

"Jensen!" Tom is heading towards him, his hair ruffled and his face flushed.

"Hi! Thanks for helping with my family." Jensen shoves the wrinkled paper napkin his bagel had come with into his pocket and screws the cap back onto the bottle.

"What kind of a friend would I be if I didn't help with something like that." Tom is smiling kindly at him. "I would have been here earlier, but I couldn't find a parking spot. I've been driving round the lot for the last ten minutes."

"Hey, don't worry. They haven't landed yet, and it takes them some time to get off the plane and claim their bags." Jensen glances at the arrival board to check if there have been any changes in the time of arrival, but so far the flight from Dallas has no delay.

"So, did you go all crazy and clean the whole house, again?" There's a teasing tone to Tom's voice as he asks the question. Jensen's worry about his house making a good impression on his parents has been the source of much amusement to Tom and Mike. True, Jensen might have been a bit obsessed and cleaned the whole house three times in the last ten seven days, but it's not like there's much else to do.

And it keeps him from thinking about the Jared situation too much.

"So what? I cleaned it yesterday." Jensen tries to make light but somehow he feels strangely defensive. Like he's being weird for worrying about his family's visit.

"Hey, I just think it's nice that you're so happy about them coming." Tom looks at Jensen like he's expecting him to lose it any time. Maybe his friend isn't too far off. Too few hours of sleep and too much stress are taking their toll on him.

"Sorry, it's just that this is the first time that they are coming to where I live, and the visit to Edmonton during college doesn't count, I was living in a dorm at that time." Jensen sighs and rubs his neck. "I spent so much time and money into repairing the house and getting the garden done, I just want everything to be nice when they come."

"They'll love it, and Mac will want to stay. The house is great, Jensen." His friend grabs his shoulder and squeezes it. "When thinking about what it looked like the first time I saw it, it's amazing what you did with the house."

Jensen just nods and looks back at the arrival board. The flight from Dallas is blinking and next to the time of arrival the word _deboarding_ flashes. A rush of adrenalin has him make his way through the crowd and wait at the front for his siblings. Tom follows him and waits with Jensen for the younger Ackles generation to show up.

It takes almost fifteen minutes for Mackenzie, and Josh and his family to walk through the door. Mac pushes a cart with their luggage on it, and Josh is carrying a excited Emily, who's whipping her head around, trying to take the hustle and bustle around them in. Sara is right behind her husband and daughter, carrying a shoulder bag in which she's searching for something-

"Mac! Josh!" Jensen waves at them and his sister grins widely when she sees him. She navigates the trolley through the crowd, which only reluctantly parts for her, and once she's next to him, she give him a hug.

"Jensen!" She lets go and theatrically checks out Tom, wolf whistling at her brother's friend. "You brought me a boy toy."

Jensen just rolls his eyes and the others laugh. "Like Mike would share Tom with you."

Mac just shrugs and grins cheekily. "I never said I would ask."

Tom gives Mackenzie a hug, grinning widely. "Good to see you, Mackenzie."

Josh and Sara's welcome is much less entertaining, but Emily insists on being let down from her dad and on Jensen picking her up. Her dark blond curls are soft against his cheeks, as Jensen holds her, and she curls close to him.

"So, how about we get moving?" His question has all of them nodding in agreement, and so they start to head for the parking lot and the cars.

There's a short commotion when Emily has to leave Jensen for the duration of the drive. She refuses to drive in any other car than Jensen's, and so Josh, Sara and Emily get into the rental while Mackenzie is going with Tom.

There's a traffic jam on the on-ramp to the express way, but it doesn't take them too long to get on the highway. During the drive to the house Jensen asks about their flight, and has Emily tell her about all the new and strange things she got to see that day.

The little girl's enthusiastic recaptures of their journey have the grown-ups smile and laugh, and the talking keeps Emily entertained. Thus distracted, she doesn't notice them time it takes to get from the airport to the house.

Sara is rather impressed with Jensen's home when they pull up at the house. She points out many features that she finds particularly charming, and Josh just grins amusedly at Jensen, who sees his brother in the rear view mirror.

Once the car is parked, his brother's wife is the first to get out. She walks closer to the house and squeals some more. Emily, who doesn't understand her mum's excitement, just toddles up to Jensen and tugs at his pant leg to have him pick her up. Now that Jensen isn't driving anymore, she wants to be carried around again.

Tom pulls up shortly after Jensen has unlocked the trunk of the car, and Mackenzie gets out complimenting Jensen on his home. Josh and Tom carry the luggage inside while Mackenzie and Sara insist on getting a tour of the house. Their entering is enthusiastically greeted by Dean, who barks excitedly and twists around the legs of the people trying to get into the hallway.

When Emily sees the dog, she demands to be set down. She hugs the husky, who suddenly becomes still, aware of the little human that is clinging to him. Both, child and dog, being entertained and thoroughly distracted, the adults walk around, with Jensen pointing out everything, distributing the rooms, and giving the grand tour.

After the interior has been seen, Jensen presents his precious garden, and Sara and Mackenzie once more compliment Jensen on his home.

About an hour later, Tom has to leave, and after saying his thanks, Jensen wishes his friend happy holidays and promises to call after his family's visit. When Jensen returns to the garden he finds Mackenzie crouching near the bushes and cooing to the cat.

His approach causes her to turn to him. "Whose cat is that?"

"Well, it's sort of my cat. One of them." He crouches down beside his sister and holds out his hand to the cat, signaling that he wants to touch her.

The feline eyes Mackenzie suspiciously and stays her distance. There's a rustling noise behind her and then the kittens, which have grown immensely the last couple of weeks, are appearing one after the other. They are far less suspicious than their mother, and they curiously come over to Jensen.

He stays still and lets them sniff and then they walk over to Mackenzie to scent the strange human as well. Mac smiles happily at that, and slowly and carefully pets the little heads.

"I didn't know you had cats." There's the sound of four little engines, as the kittens start purring.

"Well, it kind of happened, and they aren't really mine. The mother used to live in the old shed that was here, and when I had it torn down, we discovered her babies. I've been feeding them ever since, and they have accepted me, mostly." Jensen sees the older cat coming over as well.

"Do they have names?" Mackenzie tries to pick one of the kittens up, but it doesn't want to stay.

The question has Jensen snort with amusement. "Mike insisted on calling the kittens Kitty, Kathy, Courtney and Kim, but both Tom and I vetoed that decision. When I pointed out that some of them could be male, and that having a girl name could cause some kind of an identity crisis, he just said that the name would be great for a drag career."

Mackenzie chuckles amused. "Why doesn't this surprise me?"

"So far, none of them have a name. And I don't think that they would answer to it." There's barking from the house and Jensen turns around, seeing the front door open and his truck parked at the curb. With a smile at his sister, he gets up and makes for the front yard and his parents.

His mum is laughing at Dean's antics, and his dad is unloading the car together with Josh. When they see Jensen approaching them, her mum grins widely.

"Jensen, the house is so beautiful." Her proud comment has him blush, and his brother and his dad grin at his embarrassment. "The flowers and the windows and everything are so nice."

"Thanks." He hugs her and feels himself calm down for the first time in a long time. All the worries and stress about teaching, preparing everything for his family's visit, and the situation with Jared is just melting away, leaving only peace and tranquility behind.

"It looks great." His dad claps him on the shoulders and Jensen grins at him. All three of the Ackles men are not that open about their emotions, so gushing and squealing about something they like is never going to happen. They wouldn't even know how to do that. But his dad's words and the clap are enough to show that his dad approves of Jensen's home.

"Let's get you inside." Jensen picks up two bags, and leads the way into the house.

Dean runs ahead, barking happily at Sara who's waiting at the door. Jensen shows his parents their guest room, and once more he gives a tour of the house. Even though the others have already been shown around, all of the grown ups troop after him as Jensen explains the rooms and how they had been repaired.

After everything has been explained and presented, the women insist on cooking dinner. Jensen tries to protest, claiming that he's the host, but a look from his mum, and he willingly joins his dad and his brother on the porch.

Emily is sitting in the garden, petting Dean who's lying next to her. The dog is happy about the willing human slave who so generously strokes him. The cats have disappeared again, the excitement of so many strangers too much for them.

In the hour it takes for dinner to be prepared, Jensen tells his dad and Josh about teaching at Stanford, explains to his dad some more in detail about the work that had been done on the house, and points out interesting spots in San Francisco to Josh.

They are well into a discussion about visiting the campus of Stanford, when Mackenzie comes outside and tells them that dinner is almost ready. Josh gets Emily from the garden, making her protest loudly about wanting to stay with Dean, and Jensen heads inside to help with setting the table.

As it turns out, when Mackenzie says dinner is almost ready, she means that it's almost ready. Everything's set, and the only thing missing at the table is Jensen's mum, who's carrying the last plate to the table.

With everyone sitting, and Emily having her hands washed, they start eating, complementing the cooks, and enjoying each other's company. Even though Mackenzie is still staying with their parents and Josh lives in Dallas, it's rare that everyone comes together to eat.

Jensen pours himself a glass of apple juice, and takes a sip. Looking around the table he sees the people that mean the most to him, and if there's a short tug at his heart at the absence of a person he would have liked to be present as well, he ignores it and laughs about a joke Josh makes.

Any thoughts about how and why Jensen came to be here are chased away, and he reminds himself that he's enjoying his family's presence and that in the past there have been many times when he didn't get to have Thanksgiving with them.

He's been living a great life long before he got to know one Jared Padalecki. This, right here, is enough. It has been in the past and it will be in the future as well.


	7. Chapter 7

On Thanksgiving, Jensen's kitchen turns into a war zone. Every step into it is dangerous and results in being chased out by Sara and Jensen's mum. Mackenzie is the only one who's allowed inside, and the men are being ordered to stay away.

Josh is drawing with Emily and their dad is reading the paper, petting Dean, who has his head on the man's knees. With the inactivity Jensen gets restless, and it's a short step from watching the others entertaining themselves to walking to the back of the garden, and sitting down next to the pond to call Jared.

Ever since his family as arrived Jensen has been so busy with showing them around San Francisco and visiting Stanford, that he's rarely thought about Jared. With no call from LA, he allowed all the chaos that is the Ackles clan to distract him from worrying about him and Jared. But today is Thanksgiving, and Jensen wants to at least wish the other a pleasurable holiday, even if he seems to have to work.

With a short glance back to the porch, Jensen takes out his phone and dials the number. While waiting for the call to connect, he finds himself once more going over the current situation he finds himself in. Jensen thinks about the silence from Jared and the lack of interest in what Jensen is doing.

The phone rings one, two, three times, and then the other end picks up. The first thing Jensen hears is laughter and a strange male voice talking loudly in the back. Jensen tenses for a second before he reminds himself that Jared is most probably on set, his colleagues hanging out with him during a short break.

"Yeah?" Jared's voice sounds slightly irritated. Maybe there are problems on set.

"Hey Jared." He tries to sound calm, and to keep the nerves he feels from showing

"Jensen." There's nothing more coming. Jensen wonders if it's a bad time to call, if he should offer to call later, but then again Jared picked up, and hasn't said anything about not being able to talk. The weird silence is confusing him.

"Uh, I just wanted to wish you a nice Thanksgiving …" A woman calling Jared's name has Jensen fall silent. He can hear the background voices better and there are children laughing, and people talking happily. Jensen wonders where Jared is right now

"Okay, thanks. Listen, I'm with my family and we're about to go to my aunt's for dinner." At this Jensen feels something like ice spreading inside him. "Happy Thanksgiving to you as well."

"Thank you." When the woman in the back, who could be anyone from Jared's mum to his sister Jensen's never met any of them, calls out for Jared again, it becomes clear that this phone call is over.

"I'll talk to you later, Jensen." Jared's voice has lost the tinge of irritation, but he sounds pressured now, probably from everyone preparing to head out.

"Sure. Bye, Jared." He gets a 'bye' as well, and then the line is dead.

Jensen sits there, motionless, taking calming breaths. Jared is in Texas. He never once said anything about going to see his family to Jensen, and they could have flown to Texas together, Jensen's family wouldn't have had to drive all the way out here to California.

True, all of them had been excited at the prospect of spending the holiday at Jensen's place, but the reason why Jensen had proposed it in the first place had been, that he had hoped that maybe there would be the chance to see Jared, and now Jared is in Texas and Jensen is in California.

And he had never even asked if Jensen is visiting his own family.

He stares at the surface of the pond and watches the minute waves that ripple over it when a soft wind disturbs the water. Jared hasn't even see the finished house and garden, he doesn't know about the cats and he has never asked about Jensen going to Edmonton for half a week.

So far Jensen has always justified all the things that bother him with Jared having a busy working schedule, and being constantly stressed. But even though he can't even pick up the phone to send Jensen a message to let him know how Jared is doing, he can fly out to Texas for Thanksgiving.

At once Jensen scolds himself for being envious of Jared's family. That's a douchy thing to do, and he refuses to sink to this level.

Pushing the thoughts back into the furthest corner of his mind, Jensen is determined to enjoy today. He's soon joined by Dean, who curls around his owner and lays his head onto Jensen's thighs, signaling his desire to be scratched behind the ears. Jensen just does that, carding his fingers through the thick fur.

Jensen lets the tranquility around him rub off onto him, and when his sister calls out, to get the men into the house, he is back to the state of mind he had been in this morning. Dean follows him at a slow trot. The large amount of people swarming around the house, claiming spaces that usually Dean calls his own have cured the husky somewhat from his infatuation with Jensen's family.

There's been more than one occasion where the dog had balefully watched the humans sitting on the couch next to Jensen, or people crowding rooms where he wants to be as well. Jensen is sure that he and Dean both will need a day of sleep and recharging once this visit is over. The excitement is very draining.

Jensen starts setting the table together with his dad. Josh is having the usual minor crisis with Emily in the bathroom, who's supposed to wash her hands. She hates washing her hands, and every time dinner nears, she gets antsy as if waiting for a chance to escape the 'torture'.

The turkey smells deliciously, and so do the sweet potatoes, the cranberry sauce and all the other ingredients of the feast. They carry everything to the table, and once everyone is seated, and the thanks for the food are said, they start eating. Jensen can't help moaning with sheer pleasure when he digs in. His mum still makes the best Thanksgiving feast there is.

The others aren't off much better than Jensen, and for the first half hour conversation is almost non-existent as everyone tries to stuff themselves to the gills. Emily is the only one who can't keep from chattering. She tells her mum about the picture she made, she asks grandma Sharon if she'll play with her after dinner, and she makes Mackenzie promise to go and visit the cats later on.

Dean is lying next to Jensen's chair and he huffs heavily, not so subtly reminding the humans that he's present and that he would like to eat what they are having as well. When Emily is holding out a piece of turkey, Jensen tells her to keep it and put it into the husky's dishes later on.

He gets an accusing look from Dean, but when no one goes against Jensen's orders, the dog just lies down again and waits for the humans to finish their eating.

Once the main course is finished, and the dishes and plates are back in the kitchen, Sara brings the pumpkin pie. They have mulled wine with it, and tea for Emily.

With the main part of eating over, conversation finally returns full force, and they talk about what they did during the last week, and discuss what they still want to do before they have to leave. There are heated discussions about what is important and how much time to spend on what, and the cheerful atmosphere has Jensen smile content.

Looking to is left he catches his mum's eyes. She's watching him closely, and when their eyes meet, she smiles warmly at him.

"I'm glad we came here." She takes a sip from her mulled wine.

"I'm glad all of you were able to come." Jensen knows he never gave a real explanation on why he wanted to spend Thanksgiving in California, but it's not like he can just say the truth. They never talked about it, but Jensen knows that Jared prefers their relationship to stay out of the public, and their families are part of that group.

"So, I was thinking, that I could sew you new curtains while I'm here." Mackenzie next to him snorts into her cup.

"It's more like she's been worrying about you having no self-made curtains back in Dallas already." His sister grins mischievously at Jensen.

"Well, there's nothing wrong about nice curtains." Jensen wants to just disappear. He can't believe that he's sitting here and talking with his mum about window adornments. Talk about gay clichés.

"Mum, you're a guest. You aren't supposed to work while visiting me." He hopes that this will end the discussion. But he hasn't counted on Sara joining in the talk, and soon the two women are discussing the merits of blinds, curtains, and shutters.

The rest of the table tries their best to ignore them, and start conversations of their own.

Thankfully the topic of proper window treatments is dealt with once the last of the dirty dishes are stacked into the dish washer. Everyone gathers in the living room, and they pick out one of the movies Jensen bought the day before. Mackenzie had decided that the sorry state of Jensen's video collection had to be dealt with and so, he had found himself in the next Buy More and browsed through the shelves of DVDs.

Jensen had vetoed the purchase of a Blue Ray Player. With his rarely watching anything but the news or documentaries anyways, there's no need to buy some over priced new gadget. When Mac insists on him getting an ipod, Jensen promises to return with her on Black Friday and get the mp3 player.

So, now they are settling down on the couch and into chairs. His parents are sitting next to Josh and Sara, while Mackenzie is sitting on the floor, leaning back against them. Jensen has dragged the rocker closer to the TV, and he's got Emily on his lap and Dean to his feat. When the opening credits start rolling the talking quiets mostly down.

The movie is a family type of movie, and even though some of the jokes are kind of lame, Emily's excitement and amused laughter is entertaining enough for Jensen. It is the second part of some kind of trilogy, with the sequel coming out next summer. His sister and his brother already know the film, but the others see it for the first time. His parents are having a blast, and Jensen grins as he watches his mum laugh hard at the slapstick comedy of some of the scenes.

They are well into the movie, more than halfway through, when Jensen's phone starts ringing. The interruption earns him raised eyebrows and boos. He grins chagrined and sets Emily down onto the rocker. With a last apologizing shrug, he heads out to the porch and gets the ringing phone out of his pocket.

Jared's name on the display surprises him, and he wonders about why Jared is calling him. From what Jensen gathered earlier on, the other is spending the evening at his aunt's with his family.

He picks up and takes a breath. "Yeah?"

"Hey, Jensen." Jared sounds much less nerved and stressed than hours ago.

"Hey." He isn't really sure what to say. Jensen has been wanting to talk to Jared for so long, but now after the disappointing conversation this afternoon, he just doesn't know what to do, how to proceed from where they are finding themselves.

"So, I was wondering how Thanksgiving is going with you?" He has to fight hard against the urge to snort loudly.

"It's going great, thanks." Jensen doesn't add anything to that.

"You with your parents?" Jared sounds cautious now, like he's finally catching on to the tension between them.

"Yeah." Jensen wonders if he should tell Jared that actually his parents are staying with him and not the other way round. But then he decides that he'll wait for Jared to ask about specifications.

"Great. That's great." Jared clears his throat. This has the effect of making him sound nervous.

"Are you having a great time as well?"

"Yeah, it's nice to see Meg, and Jeff, and my parents. I haven't spent any time with them in ages." It's not like he's spent any time with Jensen for almost three months either. But Jensen keeps quiet about that and just grunts his agreement. "How long are you going to be in Dallas? Maybe I can come up. There's Chris concert the day after tomorrow."

"I'm not in Dallas, Jared. My family is visiting with me in San Francisco." Jensen's catches movement in the bushes and the cats appear. They have acclimated to the increased number of humans, and now even the mother lets Emily and Mac pet her. The feline family greedily devours the bits of roasted Thanksgiving turkey his mum had set aside for them.

"Oh. I didn't know." At this Jensen can't help but snort. Like that comes as a great surprise.

"They're going to stay until next Saturday." He can hear laughter from inside the house and suddenly Jensen wants to go back and rejoin his family at watching the stupid movie. "Listen…."

"Are you upset with me?" The question has anger well up in Jensen. He hadn't been angry before, but he can't help the heat and pressure building up inside of him.

"Maybe." Jensen clenches his teeth. "I had at least thought you might tell me you'll be gone during the holiday."

"But we hadn't talked about spending Thanksgiving together." Because they hadn't talked about anything at all. But Jensen really doesn't want to pick a fight with Jared, and he feels stupid quarreling about relationship stuff. He's been able to go without any of this so far, and he'd really prefer to keep it like that.

"Are you going to be in LA after the holiday?" Jensen decides that once they've seen each other again, and spent some time catching up on what has been going on their lives these past few months, things will go back to normal between them.

"No, there's a part in an independent movie. It's only a supporting role, but the shoot is set for a month in Vancouver." It's kind of telling that Jensen is neither surprised, nor especially sad, about finding out about Jared's absence. Jared saying he's around would have been far more shocking.

"I'll be up in Edmonton in three weeks." But Jared doesn't propose they meet, and Jensen thinks that if he really was interested to see him, Jensen shouldn't have to ask himself. Lately he feels like he's being a bother for Jared. This is something he never wanted to be, and he refuses to become something that grates on the other's nerves.

"After that, there'll be pick ups of the movie we shot now, and my agent called to tell me that the Academy asked about my wanting to host the Academy Awards. There'll be some negotiating, but it's very likely that I'll get the part." Jensen knows that this is a big deal, and he wants to be happy for Jared, but all he hears is that Jared won't be around and won't have time.

The Academy Awards are months away, sometime in February if Jensen remembers correctly, but it won't just stay with an independent movie and hosting the award show. These are only the things that are already decided. Everything else will be extra.

"That's great." He's aware that he sounds far less enthusiastic than he should, but Jensen doesn't have the energy to put more happiness into his voice.

Jared is silent after that. Apparently Jensen's lack of excitement was obvious enough for even him to get. And if there's one thing Jared doesn't tolerate, it's people criticizing or belittling his work. Jensen's dulled response to Jared's news seems to fall into this category.

"Well, sorry if it doesn't meet with your approval." Jensen is hard pressed to snap back at the pissy comment, but he just sighs and closes his eyes. He really doesn't want to fight. Not with his own family so close, and Jared's family probably around somewhere in the background, too.

"No really, it's great. I'm just worn out from the visit." Jensen hopes that he can put just enough honesty into his voice to calm Jared down.

There's no response to his statement. Hopefully the peace is restored again.

Jensen can hear the door behind him open and he knows that the time has come to end the call. There's no more time to check if everything is alright between them again.

"I have to go. Thanks for the call, and have a great time with the family." Mac walks over to him and sits down in the chair opposite Jensen. She studies his face closely as he tries to keep from meeting her eyes.

"Bye." Jared's dismissal is delivered in the same irritated voice he had in the afternoon. Apparently Jensen hadn't been successful with patching things up.

"Bye." He ends the call and pockets the phone. After playing for some more time, he looks up from his hands and looks at his sister.

"Everything alright?" There's worry as well as curiosity in her voice.

"Sure. Everything's fine." He smiles at her. It might not reach his eyes, but it's enough to have her from asking any other questions. It's a quality Jensen values of Mac. She knows when it's the right time to pry and when it isn't.

"The movie over?" He can hear Emily squealing inside and his mum laugh.

"Yeah." Mac smiles encouragingly at him. "Want to know how it ends?"

"Of course." And with that she tells him what he missed. Jensen laughs at some of the surprises at the end and when Josh and Sara join them later, they talk some more about the movie.


End file.
